He finished undressing her, caressing her as he did so. Watching for each response until cause merged into effect and all she could feel was one delicious impulse of pleasure and wanting. She reached for the waistband of his trousers, unfastening it.
‘I want to touch you, now.’
* * *
Jon had known that Chloe might hesitate. Known that he must be gentle and watch for any sign of uncertainty on her part. But he hadn’t dreamed that she would speak so openly about how she felt, or that it would change their lovemaking so profoundly.
Because speaking about it had seemed to break every barrier. Every touch was met with a word or a sigh. She didn’t leave him to guess what she was feeling, she told him, and that empowered him.
When she touched him, it was like electricity running across his skin. Her finger, her tongue tracked delicate patterns of delight across his body, as slowly they pushed each other further.
‘Chloe... Chloe...’ If he’d known what to beg for he would have done it. His whole body was shaking, sweat trickling down his spine and adrenaline pumping through his veins. And when he touched her, he knew that she was at the same point of no return, where thought was banished and only feeling made any sense.
The curtains around the bed were closed on two sides, leaving only the side that faced the fireplace open. When he laid her down, candlelight glimmered across her body, and he traced the shadows with his fingers.
There was only one thing in the world that he needed to do now. He needed to make her come, as hard and as long as he could. From the way she was trembling in his arms, that wasn’t going to be all that difficult.
She accepted him inside her so generously. Holding him tight, making feel as if he really were a king. Jon gritted his teeth, loving the sight and sound of her pleasure and wanting to make it last. Almost afraid of the moment when she might lose control in his arms, and whether he could hold her tightly enough to reassure her.
But Chloe wasn’t afraid. She wound her legs around his waist, tilting her hips towards him, taking him deeper. He saw her eyes darken suddenly as the pupils dilated even further, and she moved against him. When he took up her rhythm, her body seemed to almost hum with pleasure.
The further he pushed her, the more she responded to him. The more she responded, the stronger he became. When she came, her body arching under his, it felt as if he was being dragged down with her in the massive undertow of her pleasure.
Then suddenly everything changed. He lost his bearings, knowing only that the point of no way back was some way behind him now. His self-control slipped away. Everything slipped away, and he didn’t even think to miss it because Chloe was there. When she smiled at him, her fingers digging into his back, he came so hard that he almost blacked out.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHLOE WOKE, LUXURIATING in the feel of Jon’s body curled around hers. When she opened her eyes she found him propped up on the pillows, cradling her in his arms, his body bathed in candlelight.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
‘An hour. It’s still early.’ His eyes held all the promise of a long night that was still ahead of them.
‘Were you watching me?’ If she’d known, she would have kept her eyes closed for another couple of minutes just to feel herself under his gaze.
He smiled. ‘I’m taking my duties seriously.’
‘Your duties?’ She reached up, tracing her finger across his lips. ‘What duties?’
‘Oh, you know. All-purpose mascot. Lucky charm.’ He nodded towards the citrine, her gold chain curled around it on the dresser. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Better than just all right. My toes are still tingling.’
How quickly things changed. There were nights that she’d lain in bed, agonising about whether her toes were tingling or not. The power of suggestion was enough to set anyone’s toes tingling if you thought about it hard enough, but Chloe had been unable to ignore it. But all that had been driven into the past now by the delicious tingle that was the aftermath of his touch.
‘And that would be a good tingle?’
‘Yes. A very good one.’
He bent to kiss her. ‘I was thinking...’
‘Yes?’ She wanted to hear every last thing he was thinking. The warm curve of his lips told her that right now there wasn’t a bad thought in his head.
‘Seems a terrible shame to waste that bed upstairs. A glass of wine under the stars...’
‘It does, doesn’t it?’
* * *